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Staying True to My Name

Well, I am sorry to say that I had ill-fated hammock trip. I count it as a success because I got to test a lot of the gear that I made and because I learned a whole lot, but my friend and I had decided to cut our intended 3 days down to just a night. Here's the story.

I told myself at the end of my last really bad cold butt experience (9 degrees, nothing but a 15 degree sleeping bag with 25 mph winds ) that I was going to be making the same mistakes again. So, I asked my parents for an underquilt for Christmas. Unfortunately, as it would turn out later (specifically one day before my trip) my mother never actually pressed the submit button on the order. So, here I am, forced to improvise something. I made an extended pad the night before I left with some pieces cut from a second pad and duct taped to the sides of the first. I dubbed my unholy creation "Frankenpad". You can make out the corner of the beast in one of the attached pictures. The main part of Frankenpad is a very thin pad, roughly an eighth of an inch, a quarter tops by my rough estimation. Oh well, weather.com is calling for lows only in the low 20's.

The tarp I used is one that I made and just barely got done in time. It has the same dimensions as the Warbonnet edge, but with much some differences (the main one being quality of production, I'm sure ). The hammock I used is a single layer 1.1 ounce that I made and have come to really love. It is really comfortable and super light.

My friend was equipped with a DIY 1.1 oz hammock as well, an ENO profly tarp, and a winter incubator from Stormcrow.

Well, we set off into Shenandoah Park with no real aim of where we were going and we picked a trail off a parking area since we were gettin in pretty late and we were running out of sunlight. We hiked in a bit and decided to make camp. We got everything set up pretty quickly and mostly without a hitch and made some dinner. Being the idiots that we are, one part of our dinner was rice that we thought we could just pour boling water onto and let it soak for a bit. It came out crunchy and chalky . Live and learn, I guess.

Well, it's getting pretty cold by this point, so we get into our hammocks with our tarps only half pitched, but with the stakes in the ground so we can talk to each other better. We talked for a while and drank some of the maker's we brought. When the time for sleep comes around, we pitched the tarps all the way, even though weather.com only says 30% chance of rain. My setup is less than ideal with the mummy bag and pad in a single layer hammock and it's a pain to keep everything in its place, but it eventually settles in. I nod off to sleep thinking that I'm glad it's not supposed to get below 22 tonight, because I can't get my toes warm for the life of me.

I woke up to snow hitting me in the face. It was a really light snow that was able to blow up into my hammock because my tarp had loosened up while I was asleep. I make a mental note to make tarp tensioners and go out to tighten the tie-outs, cursing weather.com and their 30% prediction of snow under my breath. Once the tarp is tightened, I didn't have any more problems with snow getting in. I listen to the wolf howls and manage to catch a bit more sleep.

It has gotten noticeably colder when I wake up again. I checked my thermometer to find that the temperature dropped to 7 degrees! A far cry from the 22 I was expecting and too cold for Frankenpad. I slept a bit, but for the most part spent the rest of the night trying to stay warm and dealing with the condensation issues the tarp was giving me. I was happy to see the sun rise when it came.

As it turns out, my buddy didn't fair so well either. Whether there just isn't good enough coverage on the ProFly, or whether he didn't pitch it well, he got a good amount of snow in the hammock. We decided to call it a trip and hiked out that day.

Well, there were many lessons learned that trip
1. Don't trust Weather.com
2. You can't make rice by just pouring water on it.
3. Tarp tensioners are definitely worth having.
4. I can use a pad and get sleep down to the single digits, but I'd rather not.

Sorry for the novel, it's late and I got carried away. Here are some pictures of the experience.

Great report! sounds like you had some troubles but your out there doing what You love. I'v spent some cold butt nights in the woods myself and they are just as memorable as The warm ones. Keep up The Good work

Excellent report CBS and it sounded like a success. Live and learn indeed. Regarding those tarp tensioners, check out this post by ^shane^. I really like what he does and it seems to make life easier all around.

I had a similar experience last weekend. Low 20's and strong gusty wind were too much for my set up. Lived and learned, as you did, and am working on heading out again Jan 21 - 23. I don't like getting my butt kicked (or frozen) so back out I go - better prepared.

Thanks for sharing your experience. Great to learn from tough outings. Nothing beats the real experience of just getting out there! Frozen butt or not, glad ya'll survived.

Live and learn. I think nearly all of us have had the cold butt as well as condensation more than once. It's what keeps it fun, trying to figure out what works for you and bringing ideas and experiences to the table. Kudos on the report!

We must all learn to live together as brothers--or we will all perish together as fools. MLK

.......... I nod off to sleep thinking that I'm glad it's not supposed to get below 22 tonight, because I can't get my toes warm for the life of me.

I woke up to snow hitting me in the face. It was a really light snow that was able to blow up into my hammock because my tarp had loosened up while I was asleep. I make a mental note to make tarp tensioners and go out to tighten the tie-outs, cursing weather.com and their 30% prediction of snow under my breath. Once the tarp is tightened, I didn't have any more problems with snow getting in. I listen to the wolf howls and manage to catch a bit more sleep.

It has gotten noticeably colder when I wake up again. I checked my thermometer to find that the temperature dropped to 7 degrees! A far cry from the 22 I was expecting and too cold for Frankenpad. I slept a bit, but for the most part spent the rest of the night trying to stay warm and dealing with the condensation issues the tarp was giving me. I was happy to see the sun rise when it came. .........

You did 7F with a thin pad, and survived? Impressive! I'm glad you don't have to change your name to Frozen Butt Stephen!

Well, you are learning by doing!

For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us....that the creation itself also will be set free from its slavery to corruption into the freedom of the glory of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation groans and suffers the pains of childbirth together until now.
Romans 8:18,21-22